Boogiepop: Sacrifice of the Mysterious Froth
by Zorknot
Summary: Boogiepop Phantom fanfic. Just a teaser so far, but I hope to add more to it soon


Boogiepop: Sacrifice of the Mysterious Froth  
  
A Boogiepop Phantom fanfic by Zorknot  
  
DISCLAIMER: Boogiepop and other characters created by Kouhei Kadono.   
  
NOTE: This is just a teaser. I couldn't stand it that ff.net didn't have a category for Boogiepop Phantom fics. Hopefully other lovers of this series will come once it's opened. I do plan on continuing this and I'll probably do some massive editing of this later.   
  
There are spoilers, but it won't help you much I'm afraid:-)  
  
~~~~~*~~~~~  
  
Why have I been called?   
  
I put on my black mantle, the cloak which gives me strength and separates me from my alter ego. No one is in this abandoned alley save for a few animals rustling nervously amidst the empty bottles and soda cans. It would not be good for Toka if people saw me do this. Already too many people know.  
  
Next I don the black cloth stovepipe hat, pulling my long hair into it so that with my serious expression, I have the look of a somewhat frail boy. My voice is lower than Toka's and unlike Toka, who has friends, family and plans for the future...who can ignore all the evils of this world and laugh, I have none of these things, and I have to fight to ensure that Toka can be happy.  
  
Right now, I am Boogiepop and Boogiepop never laughs.  
  
It's the girl of course...Moto. She's why I'm back. She may inadvertently feed the Manticore. I thought Echoes had destroyed it. But some part of it lives on, otherwise I would not be here. It no longer has a body, but I can sense it...In the air....  
  
Above me, I hear the buzzing of a streetlamp and I realize how the Manticore has managed to survive. It has been living off the electricity in the power lines. It will most likely lure Moto into an area where its power is most strongly concentrated. If I follow the flow of electricity I should find it.   
  
~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
She never looks up to see me as I destroy the Manticore's apparition. Moto knew Saotome Masami before he became an enemy of this world. That is how the Manticore was able to lure her here.   
  
I arrived just in time, as when I came to the scene the apparition was inches away from feeding, its thin, throbbing tongue lolling out of its mouth like as that of a lackadaisical snake tasting the air around its prey before devouring it.   
  
After I shot my wrist harpoon through the creature's head, it gyrated and disappeared in a flash of light.   
  
It will be back.  
  
Moto was on her knees bare knees in her school uniform. She was in shock no doubt. "It used Saotome's form, but it is not Saotome. It is a man eater, borrowing his appearance to feed" I explain to her.   
  
She doesn't lift her head as she asks, "A man eater?"   
  
"It has lost its earthly form and been rendered harmless to humans. The problem is when some troubled soul like you offers it their life. Even if it eats you, it doesn't mean you were killed by Saotome." I start to walk away. It occurs to me though that the girl may need some closure otherwise she may continue thinking about Saotome forever. "Forget about Saotome," I say, "He's dead. I killed him."  
  
Behind me, I hear her start to sob. I know through my peculiar way of knowing things that she is right now more herself then she has been for a long time. She will no doubt still be obsessive compulsive, but now, for her there is hope.  
  
There is something I feel within myself. A twinge, like when danger is near only...I force myself to ignore it.  
  
~~~~~*~~~~~  
  
Usually I fade away fairly quickly once I take off my mantle. But this twinge I feel...it's not going away. I walk toward Toka's house and think back to when I first felt it...  
  
Moto started crying, and then I could see her true self... She'll probably get married someday and tell stories of me to her children. Perhaps they'll laugh at her and say that Boogiepop is a stupid name and they're too old to believe in such things. This is as it should be. If fate is kind to them they will never see me. For I am Death incarnate. I only come in times of crisis to reap the souls of the wretched from the earth.  
  
But then why am I still here? I feel a sense of danger of some kind yet I cannot determine its source.   
  
I'm at the door of Toka's house now. This is actually the first time I've entered the house in a long time. Ever since Toka's parents had a second marriage ceremony a little less than five years ago. They were fighting before I remember. That was when I destroyed the Fear Ghoul. I open the door and take off my shoes.  
  
"Welcome home, Toka-chan!" Toka's mother calls to me. She approaches me for a hug, her arms wide, she is wearing a floral house dress and blue slippers  
  
The twinge is at full force now and I back away. Is Toka's mother the source of the danger? But no...it's not that localized. It seems to be all around me. It's a different sort of danger too, something I cannot classify. For some reason I'm feeling pulled toward Toka's mother. I feel this strange aching in my throat...my eyes...they're burning...something's coming out of them.  
  
I feel the arms of Toka's mother wrapping around me, squeezing me tight, tighter. Some how this seems natural. Comforting even.   
  
But of course this is absurd. I am Death. I have no need of comfort. I feel nothing.  
  
"It's okay, dear. It's okay. You're home now." Toka's mother rocks me back and forth gently and my face twitches oddly and...  
  
Am I...crying?  
  
This is not good.  
  
~~~~~[END]~~~~~  
  
to be continued  
  
This comes out of wondering what exactly the "real" Boogiepop was doing while the Phantom was doing her thing. By the way, if you're wondering about the title, it stems from two things. First Kouhei Kadono has this thing about making the most ridiculous titles to his volumes imaginable. Boogiepop vs. the Imaginator is an example. Another is Boogiepop Missing: the Peppermint Magician. Second I recently learned through translating the manga (as of this writing I'm on page 65) that Boogiepop gets her name from a bastardization of "bukimi na hou" which translates to "mysterious froth". So yes, her name is stupid in both languages. I like to think of the villains of Boogiepop as paranormal g-men in an extremely warped dick tracy spinoff..   
  
It's crazy, man, crazy. 


End file.
